EVENTS

Reviews? They didn’t tell me there would be critics and reviews!

Oh, no, not another reason to feel stressed. The very first review of The Happy Atheist has come out, in Publisher’s Weekly, and I can’t bear to look. Tell me it’s OK (it doesn’t matter if it actually is OK, just tell me it is.)

I’m not expected to paste these in a scrapbook or something silly like that, am I? Because I refuse.

“Self-serving puffery” sounds like it might be fun, but, of course, useless. Apart from that, I liked the fact that the reviewer quoted from the book several times. This PZ Myers character sounds like he might be a straight shooter.

Note from someone who has been writing novels for 20 years … PW is not a “soft touch.” I have definitely seen negative, even scathing reviews from them, and have myself received so-so or even leaning-negative reviews most of the time. My best review has just come in, for my first urban fantasy, but I can testify that PW reviews are not only to “sell books.” They are quite real, so PZ’s is worth something.

That review actually makes sense at least, something that will be in short supply once the shrieking shills for various xian cults start wailing that the book represents the crystalised doom of civilisation, and that all the copies must be burned before they open a portal direct to the tenth circle of hell…

… or, you know, something understated and restrained like that.

I must preorder a copy from somewhere. I wonder if I can get it from Amazon…?

Terrific review. Imo it would be unrealistic to hope for better. Even though I figure I’ve hard all the arguments by now, the chance to have them presented humorously appeals. Can’t wait for the movie. Oops maybe I can.

An anti-religion gem from Lawrence Krauss: Forget Jesus.

Sooo… anyone come begging for the movie rights yet? Card-carry member of the Church of Scientology perhaps? They’d only change a few words, I’m sure!

Oh, jeez. Jinx McHue. He was one of the very first obsessed cranks I had to ban, way way back when this blog was run on my lab computer, and he also created an early anti-PZ blog on blogspot. Really obsessed, really full of hate, and still going on and on about it.

By the way, that isn’t a review. He hasn’t read the book. He just passionately hates me.

When I pre-ordered it from Amazon the post-pre-order page had (amongst others) “Atheism for Dummies”!
That must be the most inappropriate of their titles since “ASL for Dummies” (I have a photo of that”

It’s an unbiased capsule summary of your book with a few words used that imply approval, e.g. “punchy”, “deft”.

On the assumption that you receive royalties from sales, what you really need is some dingbat megachurch “pastor” to proclaim that it’s unclean, straight from the hands of Satan, will convert innocent children to homosexuality, make old ladies cry, and ought to be banned. That’ll increase sales. If someone can lure the mayor and council of some benighted city in the grip of religious superstition to actually ban it, followed by high intensity legal wrangling, even better. Remember: there’s no such thing as bad publicity.

No worries PZ. It seems to me that an “inverse barometer effect” favorably applies to your situation. Negative reviews from clueless irrational blowhards can serve as positive validation of the thesis of your book, and should be as welcome as positive reviews from rational reviewers: WIN-WIN!

UK bookseller here (and first-time poster, hello all!).
Any idea if the UK rights have been sold PZ? I’d like to see this on my recommends shelf when the time comes, but the industry catalogue currently reads “Not for sale in the UK”.